Mourners arrive for the Newtown Church Vigil at the Newtown Congregational Church, Newtown, CT
Tonight's show didn't have as many headlines on the screens like we usually see, but there was still a lot of material referenced. The citations after the jump include the Ezra Klein piece Rachel discussed at length and the two shooter profile studies David Cullen mentioned in the opening block.
Timeline: Deadliest U.S. mass shootings
Don't Jump to Conclusions About the Killer By DAVE CULLEN
National Threat Assessment Center - Secret Service Safe School Initiative
FBI report: The School Shooter: A THREAT ASSESSMENT PERSPECTIVE (pdf)
Obama wants 'meaningful action' in the wake of Conn. Massacre
Police search for motive after 5 killed at Norcross spa
3 students killed, several hurt in shooting at Chardon High School; suspect in custody
Gunman Kills 7 in a Rampage at a Northern California University
3 dead, 2 wounded in Tulsa shooting spree
Seattle Cafe Shooter Kills 5, and Himself After Citywide Manhunt
Dark Knight Rises Shooting LIVE: Masked Gunman Kills 12 in Batman Rampage
6 dead, including gunman, in Minn. workplace shooting
Gunman Kills 6 at a Sikh Temple Near Milwaukee
Three Killed in Shooting at Spa in Wisconsin
Shooting rampage at Clackamas mall leaves 3 dead, including shooter
More Guns, More Mass Shootings—Coincidence?
Why are mass shootings becoming more common?
Twelve facts about guns and mass shootings in the United States
Jacob Tyler Roberts Identified As Clackamas Town Center Shooter
Mythbusting: Israel and Switzerland are not gun-toting utopias
Statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs on Newtown, Connecticut Shooting
NRA Members Agree: More Gun Regulation Makes Sense
Letter from the President -- War Powers Resolution
Panetta Orders Deployment of U.S. Antimissile Units in Turkey
Leave a Comment:
Any info on The CIA Torture Report would be appreciated... Thanks, Will.
Let's consider another common, nearly univeral, factor in who these mass killers are: males.
How we raise our boys, what we teach young men about violence (including the brutal sports we valorize), and how we treat young men with mental illness, all need to be part of this discussion. It's not all about gun access. This is a gender issue.
Yes, but when they do go on a rampage it is much easier to slaughter large numbers of people when they have access to assault weapons.
Sure, people can beat one another to death with their fists, but someone beating elementary school children to death with their fists can be jumped and restrained by the school staff.
Oregonian, I agree with your focus. (Not so sure sports are part of that, but willing to consider.) I've read several articles and heard professionals talk about things that hinder empathy, realistic violence (we use to play war with stick guns, now you can kill and watch realist people die on video games), devalue human life, and lots of other contributions to breaking down things that might prevent this behavior.
John, see post 4.2 about knife attacks on school children in china that killed multiple kids and adults. That said, I'm with you on looking at access to assualt weapons (although I don't think that was used or the primary weapon in this case).
The knife attacks on children in china have killed how many, exactly? Answer: not NEARLY as many as the many many gun attacks on children, women, and men here in the US.
To try to deflect away from the fact that gun control laws need to be restrictive is just showing exactly what kind of heartless troll that you are.
You have all ready had your ass handed to you on previous threads about this matter, dookie.
I have to believe that the emotional barrier is way lower to stand back and pull a trigger than to get close enough to plunge a knife into a person. Or to hit a human being with a baseball bat, for that matter. And then there's the ability to inflict so much mayhem so quickly, for someone who's bent on a spectacular exit (suicide) for himself.
Donna, so we are okay if there are only 8 kids killed like in China during a school attack but 18 is too many? I've said that looking at gun control should be part of the discussion but it is not the answer even if we outlawed them all together.
To say that you'd be okay if fewer kids were killed is what is heartless. (Admittedly, you did not say that directly but your comment surely implies it.) I've said the conversation must be much larger than gun control.
JL, I agree, the emotional barrier that would have to be overcome would seem lower with a gun than a knife or other device. Of course, this assumes rational and emotional stable individuals, it may not be much more of a barrier with those who are already deranged. But your point is well noted.
Again dookie: how many MORE children would have been killed if the guy had a GUN?
But again, you won't answer that. You just go on with your red herring of a defense, which shows you to be a troll and a horrible person to boot.
To justify the china incident, to try to even compare the china incident to what happened yesterday is heartless. And ignorant. And shows you to be a troll.
I see through you, you heartless, ignorant selfish troll.
And I want to make sure everyone on this thread knows that you are a troll who posts disingenuous comments.
You are full of @!$%#.
I'm willing to answer anything. The answer is I don't know. In one attack the attacker later committed suicide away from the scene of attack, so he may have killed all he intended. But, your point that a gun is much more capable of inflicting more damage is conceded. That's simple logic.
But you answer the following. What if we ban assault weapons and then there a series of attack using hand guns, do you then ban hand guns? Then there's a series using shotguns, do you then ban shotguns? Then, there attacks using a mixture of toxic chemicals, do you ban those chemicals?
The point is tracing the root of the attack, what caused it, and address those concerns will work to reduce ALL attacks, not just those using assault weapons, or hand guns, etc.
And, as I've had to state in each post because you want pretend I'm for free access to all guns, I think discussions around some types of gun control are beneficial.
Thanks again, Will. The entire TRMS staff was amazing tonight. Events like this are not easy for anyone to bear...
As was commented somewhere today, there was an attack in a school in China - the person carried a knife - 22 children were wounded - no one died - not a good thing but not a deadly thing.
I would add that there have been lots of stories about people killing other people. There are countries that outright ban ownership or use of firearms (UK and Australia are a couple of examples). China is another. But people still kill people; they find a way, whether it's using knives, garottes, or cars. So maybe the problem isn't the vehicle, it's the person in control.
I noted recently in MD that there was a teenager who killed someone using their car -- and they basically got a lot of sympathy from the court, just a slap on the wrist. Wise choice; if they had used a gun, it would have been a mandatory life sentence.
crone, schoolkids in China in March of 2010 were not so lucky, eight were killed with a knife. Nor were the kids in May 2010 when seven school children and two adults were killed with a knife. The flip side, there have been gun attacks with no deaths.
That said, I'm not against gun control. Assualt weapons and high caliber guns should be difficult (maybe impossible, I'm open to more consideration) to get. But all the comments that offer only the banning of guns are totally missing the bigger picture.
OK take that point and think about it...
People kill other people that's a given but do we really want to make it easier?
I don't know a lot about what happened yesterday but I do know that the solution to violence is not and has never been more violence. The solution to guns being used to kill is not to have more guns.
People have asked what could have been done to prevent the killings yesterday when the guns were legally purchased?
How about trigger locks. They should come with every weapon like a magazine. If those guns had been locked and someone else had the key it might not have stopped this guy but it sure as hell would have made it a lot harder for him and that might have been enough.
How about trigger locks. They should come with every weapon like a magazine. If those guns had been locked and someone else had the key it might not have stopped this guy but it sure as hell would have made it a lot harder for him and that might have been enough.
Dragoon, again I'm sure you are well intentioned but trigger locks are already provided free and required in Connecticut. The problem is human behavior, not laws, not trigger locks, not gun control (although as I've said, we should always be willing to look at better laws), these are not the answer.
So what your saying Rob is that we have a compliance and enforcement problem...so much for "Law abiding and responsible gun owners"
I'm sorry but if you or anyone wants to own a gun you at least should understand what that entails...Hell you should be required to have insurance just like you are so that you can operate a motor vehicle. Maybe responsibility will count for something if you have to pony up some cash for it.
Dragoon, the insurance aspect is an interesting one and an area I've not considered or read about.
As ot your "law abiding and responsible gun owner," that has been my whole argument, this is about personal behavior, and not as much about guns.
Keep trying to appear "level headed" troll.
You don't fool anyone.
I just started a petition on the White House Petitions site, We the
People. Will you sign it? http://wh.gov/RnFD
New 2nd admendment rules
Maurice, while I applaud your initiative, so much is being said about this issue without full knowledge. For instance, one of your petition items:
The current law is much stricter, no felon (with minor exceptions) is allowed to own a firearm.
We definately have to have more discussion and many follow up actions, but knee jerk and emotion based reactions are usually not the best or most effective ones.
yeah but they can go to their local gun show or a neighboring state and buy one with no questions asked.
There was a case a couple of years ago (forgive me I can't find a citation) where a NJ state trooper pulled over a car on a routine stop opened the trunk and it was FULL of guns. The Driver had bought them all in Virginia and was selling them in NY out of the back of his car.
A national database that records purchases would have caught that and we wouldn't have had to depend on law enforcement getting "Lucky".
Owning Another’s life v.s. I Need this Gun to protect myself.
So which is it ??
I applaud Rachel Maddow and all the anchors and reports with MSNBC for your discussions today of attitudes toward gun laws and mental health services. As a former shooting sports national champion (1st woman ever to win US Biathlon National Championship, in 1980), and as a parent to a child battling with mental health issues (emotional/behavioral disturbances), I understand the desperate need for serious and responsible action to prevent these sorts of horrific killings. Our society must come to terms with the senseless violence in our midst.
Jeremy spoke in class today.
Watching Prez Obama was the height of hypocrisy....how many children has he killed with drone strikes ?
The moral fabric of this country has fallen so low that a convicted war criminal, G W Bush, can attend the Ryder Cup and be treated like some hero with mega-stars like Michael Jordan fawning over him. Not one...NOT ONE media person mentioned it but when I pursued the subject at ESPN, I was banned from commenting. George Carlin had it right, we are going down the tubes & apparently nothing can stop it.
William,
I think they believe the drone strikes are necessary because they don't want to send in special forces to the target. All this to minimize terrorist activity.
The reason for the terrorist activity is because we are there trying to control an oil supply. It's been going on for a 100 years since Winston Churchill was there trying to ensure an oil supply for the English navy.
Our country needs to work towards being energy independent and pull out of the middle eastern countries. As long as there are western oil companies there, there will be problems.
There are some simple factual questions that woke me up, early this morn. 1) How did this alledged shooter get hold of (2) handguns, and an automatic rifle...why would a "mom" who is a schoolteacher, have (2) handguns?? and a rifle?? not locked up, especially with a mentally challenged son..
2) where did this shooter get (10) additional 18 shot magazines for these two different maker guns..(glock, and sig-sauer) to be able to fire over 100 rounds???...
3) Where did this 20 yr. old get a assualt vest that could carry (10) additional magazines...and walk through a elementary school wearing this??
Something just does not add up here??? WTF?? Rather than focusing on #guncontrol...these are some fundamental major questions that need to be answered!!
It doesn't add up because you are making a conspiracy based on nothing more then lax gun laws creating an environment where what your complaining about is guns are easy to be found and can be bought just as easy. Where is there any laws stating that 1) a school teacher can't own a gun or 2002 for that matter 2) there are no requirements to buy guns on a persons ability to safely store and use the gun/s 3) the NRA has stuck a lot of money into politicians pockets to make sure extended clips as well as everything else the shooter had was easy to get 4) the stuff the shooter was wearing is standard issue police gear worn every day by police, guess you don't get out of the house much or you would have known that 5) just because a person has a mentally ill person living in the home doesn't mean they can not buy guns or have them in there homes nor is there any gun law to prevent a mentally ill person from obtaining a gun unless a medical professional deems him as a danger to self or others 6) that you claim gun control is not what should be focused on shows how funny you are, everything you are stating as throwing up red flags in your mind are things that can only be addressed with gun control laws 7) the legal age to buy guns is 18.
They don't allow guns in the home of a mentally ill person, but there are mentally ill people that have not been diagnosed, so they still have guns.
Nope that would be infringing on the rights of the person that the mentally ill live with, ownership is restricted to the person not the home or other members in the home. You are mixing a parolee with the mental ill, so unless the mentally ill are on parole then there is no law to stop the non mentally ill from owning guns or having them in the home. Just like a felon living in the home does not stop anyone in the home from owning a gun, just the felon can not own a gun, accept for the parole thing because the home the parolee moves to becomes the parolees prison and is regulated by a state officer, parole agent. We are talking laws not whats a good ideal or isn't.
Every responsible gun owning parent knows to keep home-held weapons locked up, trigger guarded, and in a place not easily accessed,
If you are in law enforcement, and carrying a loaded weapon is part of your job, you must pass a series of qualifications and psychological evaluations before you can carry that gun. You're given deep instruction in the use of deadly force, and you must maintain those qualifications for the duration of your employment as long as that employment requires you to carry a loaded weapon.
We don't have these same rules for the average joe gun owner.
You can purchase any combination of guns, ammunition, and gear online, or through magazines. Go in and purchase as many bullets as you want, and there's no one there to question your sanity.
You can walk into any particular "surplus" store and walk out in full riot gear if you have the cash, and no questions asked. Dr. Freud isn't at the door to check you out.
Metal detectors don't go into schools until children have died, and you never quite comprehend what humans are truly capable of, until someone does something as awful as what happened in Connecticut. (or elsewhere)
And thre's nothing you can do, no law, no drug, not anything, that will prevent it from happening again.
I am a gun owner. I have my cpl license. I firmly believe in gun ownership and that the ability to bear arms is a fundamental right of Americans. However, our nation is broken. For some of our citizens, our "don't tread on me" mentality overshadows our basic humanity. I look at other counties that have high populations of gun owners and don’t see the travesties I see here in ours. I don’t believe the answer is removing guns from our citizens, and honestly I don’t even think that’s a possible strategy. Even with the best of efforts, the best we could hope for is law-abiding citizens turn over their arms, but that still leaves the criminals armed, and with the knowledge that their victim pool is unable to fend for themselves. So I believe something else needs to happen. The idea that we need to pretend that these events don't really matter to the "gun" question, is preposterous. They matter. More measures need to be taken to prevent them. As a society we need to look at this matter and change public thinking. As a smoker, I watched how public opinion can be changed in one generation against cigarettes. I know that this can be done with a focused effort. I think we need to change our society. We need to protect and defend our right to bear arms, but we also need to create a safer country.
- We need to educate our gun owners in a manner that is used for getting a drivers license. We need to use that education to show graphic images of what death really is. Like showing car crashes in drivers ed, we need to remind people that are purchasing a gun, and let’s face facts, a gun's only purpose is to kill, with that responsibility we need to drill it into the minds of gun owners that killing causes misery. I know one class won’t change society, but that same class and those same images being taught to every gun owner over a generation will. And we need to make it mandatory that every person that purchases a gun be educated. Weeks of education, not just some 8 hour class. And to attend that class, purchasers need to provide proof that they are mentally stable, and not taking any drugs that have a side effect of suicide, with a note from a physician.
- We need to train our citizens that deal with youth on a regular basis to see signs of mental illness. We need more programs that support those with them, and support their caregivers. We need more public awareness (PSAnnouncements come to mind), about what signs to look for in people that have reached the boiling point, and we need to know how to deal with these people, and have services to care for them before they break.
- We need to stop pretending that violence on our media and entertainment doesn't desensitize our nation from the crushing loss that death brings. We need to remove death scenes from movie and tv. With video games increasingly moving towards lifelike images, we need to remove the image of killing another human being, and replace it with killing "monsters or some other fictional character". We need to change the mindset. We need to get rid of things that desensitize our nation from what death of another person really is.
- We need to increase "cooling off" periods before purchase, I know it's a hassle to wait to buy a gun, but the trade off is worth waiting a week for.
- We need to make it mandatory that any structure that provides services to the public have a gun on premise (it can be "locked away", but accessible)and have a licensed owner that has received training. Schools, movie theaters, malls, etc. A gun needs to be on premise and a person able to use it needs to be there as well.
- We need to stop making mass murderers into celebrities. We need to remove their name from the media, and instead focus on the loss they have caused. Stop glorifying their acts, and focus on the pain those acts caused. To the media, that is just as gripping a story as "who is the bad guy", and it removes that glory from their act and focuses on the pain they have caused.
- We need to limit bullet capacity, and remove assault rifles. I know die hard gun owners don't like this idea, but there needs to be a trade off for safety, and forcing shooters to stop and reload gives potential victims time to defend themselves. As a gun owner, the idea of limiting my ability to have arms that I want makes me mad, but as a responsible member of humanity, I need to remind myself that without limits, this is what our society has become.
- And unfortunately, as a society we need to stop living in the bubble that we are always safe. Like putting up smoke alarms in case of a fire, we need to become more aware of the dangers that can befall us.
We also need to address reducing crime, more youth programs and activities, ending the drug war, providing more free counseling (hopefully universal healthcare will cover that), we need to focus on keeping father's in their family and providing more support to marriage, but all that is a bigger issue and not really my topic right now.
Nicely said and well done
I understand this is rather simplistic but body armor can easily be a warning sign that someone is looking to be bullet resistant. Who besides military and armed forces need armor for normal gun use? A hunter would not go hunting with others if he/she thought a bullet-proof vest was necessary. Let the purchase of body armor be on a national registry, with some hard questioning about the necessity before the purchase is permitted. Just asking.
I don't really see any need to restrict the sale of body armor if anything I think I like the idea of someone who is afraid for their life having a bullet proof vest a hell of a lot more than a scared person having a gun.
Let me put it like this. After a career in the military I have seen more than my share of weapons and weapon accidents. Most if not all of those came from one of two things, Someone was either careless or jumpy neither are good things when dealing with firearms.
As a resident of Minnesota, I took my Firearms Safety Course in Third Grade. My family members were responsible hunters. Now I live in Ohio, another big pro-gun state and I am an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor). As these mass killings increase in number, the public is being steered by gun lobbyists( with the help of the media), to blame mental health as the cause of this violence. But that focus doesn't address a real solution, for many reasons I don't have time to address.
The solution will be a process that most agree needs to be started now. We will not get to the solution if we just ID who to blame. But we can address one concrete problem and that is abundantly available AMMUNITION !! If we start there, why not regulate the ammunition instead of the gun.
Stores are required to have a license to sell hard liquor and the buyer needs a license (driver or picture ID) to purchased it. Hunters need a license to bag a deer every year, as do fisherman to fish in most public waterways. Why not apply the same principle to ammunition: ammunition can only be sold by licensed agencies, and the buyers need a license to purchase it. License requirements for sellers can be spelled out, including reporting regs, and buyer's licenses can address background checks, age, continuing firearms safety certification, etc.
Any feedback welcome - I haven't heard any discussion along these lines. It's a start.
Unfortunately, that only regulates the honest, responsible people.
If someone wants a gun, they will find one. There's plenty of illegal weapons out there that sell for cheap.
What's needed is early identification of trouble, and pressing the need to get that into focus. I also agree there should be limits on the types of guns you can posses..is a machine gun really necessary to go hunting with?
I support the Second Amendment, but we need to be reasonable on what the Second Amendment was really meant to be, and there has to be a re- structuring of laws that allow for lawful possession of certain weapons, but limt the possession of "portable weapons of mass destruction" by crazy people.
I agree with you but I will play devils advocate here for sake of argument.
Anytime you start talking about licencing, restricting or even tracking anything to do with firearms the inevitable counter comes up that that is how tyrany starts.
That keeping a list only makes it easier for the Government to take the guns (and by extention the people who own them) away. That only the right to keep and bear arms has kept us safe and free.
When the Framers wrote the constitution and the 2nd amendment the world and this country was a completely different place and they might well have had legitimate reasons for that fear they were trying to protect us from. The problem with that is that this country has been bumping along for almost 250 years and with the exception of the Civil War and the Japanese internment during WWII the Government has never tried to round people up and put them in gulags.
Not to mention that it was only after the 1968 law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(d), that felons and the mentally ill lost the right to own guns.
While flipping through the channels this morning I stopped for a second on FOX & Friends (can't help watching a trainwreck) and heard one of the hosts say somewhat gleefully that "Prayer has returned to the school in Sandy Hook"..he explained that there are reports of some of the teachers praying with the children they were protecting.
This, on the heels of the Reverend Huckabee's statement that the shooting is a result of removing GOD from the schools .
Could they be suggesting this shooting is part of GOD's plan to return prayer to the schools?
like all things entertainment they play to their audience...
The sad part is that that audience turns to religion out of fear and paranoia and not because of any genuine wish for peace or enlightenment.
Did any of these folks show up at the church to pray for the slaughtered childern?
All NRA Leaders
Joe Allbaugh (Board Member)
Graham Hill (Board Member)
Scott Bach (Board Member)
Steve Hornady (Board Member)
Buster Bachhuber (Board Member)
Roy Innis (Board Member)
Carol Bambery (Board Member)
Joaquin Jackson (Board Member)
Bob Barr (Board Member)
David Keene (Board Member)
Ronnie Barrett (Board Member)
Tom King (Board Member)
Clel Baudler (Board Member)
Herbert Lanford (Board Member)
Ken Blackwell (Board Member)
Wayne LaPierre (Executive Vice President and CEO)
Matt Blunt (Board Member)
Karl Malone (Board Member)
John Bolton (Chairman of International Affairs Subcommittee)
John Milius (Board Member)
Rep. Dan Boren (Board Member)
Buz Mills (Board Member)
Bob Brown (Board Member)
Cleta Mitchell (Board Member)
Pete Brownell (Board Member)
Grover Norquist (Board Member)
John Burtt (Board Member)
Chuck Norris (Celebrity Spokesperson)
Dave Butz (Board Member)
Oliver North (Board Member)
Harlon Carter (Former NRA Executive Vice President)
Ted Nugent (Board Member)
Richard Childress (Board Member)
Johnny Nugent (Board Member)
Jeff Cooper (Former Board Member)
Jim Porter (First Vice President)
Chris Cox (Executive Director)
Jay Printz (Board Member)
David Coy (Board Member)
Todd Rathner (Board Member)
Larry Craig (Board Member)
Kayne Robinson (Executive Director of NRA General Operations Division)
Cam Edwards (NRA News Radio Host)
Wayne Anthony Ross (Board Member)
R. Lee Ermey (Board Member)
Ron Schmeits (Board Member)
Manny Fernandez (Board Member)
Tom Selleck (Board Member)
Sandy Froman (Board Member)
John Sigler (Board Member)
Jim Gilmore (Board Member)
Linda Walker (Board Member)
Marion Hammer (Board Member)
Dave Workman (Former Board Member)
Maria Heil (Board Member)
Rep. Don Young (Board Member)
Charlton Heston (Former President)
Hi Rachel's staff.
There's a problem with the podcast. It's about five minutes short.
At the 34:07 mark, while Rachel was talking about people on the terrorist watch list being able to buy a gun there's a cut in mid-sentence.
Then it goes to the shot of the White House at night and the flag flying at half-mast.
I've already started receiving defensive pro-gun e-mails. No shame. I don't have an answer; you can't legislate morality, and sanity isn't valued in a society that is becoming more narcissistic by the second. I believe we'll get to the point of stronger gun laws, but we'll still have tragedies. The horror of this will stay with me for a long time, at least until the next horrific tragedy.
Yeah but someone will apply the logic that this "horrific tragedy" is a reason to prepare for the next one not to prevent it.
I agree, they stepped up training for police officers on how to capture a shooter, the SWAT team all have been certified in this training. It may just be that this is a huge adrenaline rush for these folks, sorry to assume, but there are way too many guns floating around, I would definately take my kids out of school because of it, that may also benefit those who are for privatization of schools, what about gun control, why was this program abruptly stopped, and who stand to benefit from it's ending? So, we get to watch a SWAT team instead of watching young beautiful children grow up? Why do I smell dirty money and greed? I did have a beautiful dream though, a new nursery opened up in heaven, and Jesus was taking care of all those precious children.
And I wonder how much mental illness this event will spawn.
This event in Newtown, CT is really a horrific event that occurred with 5 to 10 year old kids being murdered. The parents and the community are shocked and mourn about this awful situation which is understandable about all of this. But at the same time there is a lunacy to all of this. Because even though we mourn and are horrified to what has happened at the same time certain politicians, religious extremists of hatred, and wealthy people think nothing to start a war or manufacture an endless supply of deadly weapons that will butcher and kill a endless supply of 5 to 10 year olds and younger children and really not think twice to what they have done. You don’t see these people mourning at the horrific event that happened. These people may pretend to be, but at the same time demand more and more money for that endless butchering and killing machine. And they say evil has come to their community, but at the same time encourage the same things that cause this situation to happen. Now you can make up your excuses to what has been said here, but it is you people that keep choosing to live in a Lunacy World.
We need a Sensible Gun Ownership for Sensible Gun Owners Bill. Whereby the access is severely limited, and the type is severely limited in all possible purchasing venues. Sane and law abiding citizens will always be able to own guns, but not any possible hand cannon, independent of strength and mag size. And those who are not sane, and not law abiding cannot, under any circumstances, own any guns, unless approved by an independent medical board, and/or judicial body. And no sunset provision.
In addition, we need to have better means of identifying those who are mentally ill, and providing them the help and support they urgently need.
This is simple stuff, Congress has failed for far, far, far too long.
Why does everyone keep calling this guy the shooter. Call him what he is, the killer, the murderer of innocents. Stop mentioning his name! Thats what he wanted. Thats what all these murderers want, their name in lights.
Actually you should call him what he was, a mentally ill young man who should never have had access to weapons. He is as much a victim as are the others; he didn't get the help he needed either.
Hate him if you want, but wouldn't it be better to find ways to identify people like him and get them help so they DON'T commit these kinds of horrific acts?
I don't' think that putting an armed security guard in every school. This solution is deeper than that. There should be more public service in mental health. Newtown seems to be a close knit community that has endured this horrific tragedy. This should all be in our thoughts on how they are and around the world on how they are coming together and helping each other with love and compassion. We all should be kind to one another
Ya know, I am wondering, all these shootings in the past and maybe in this horrific case are that most of these perpetrators have a history of being bullied. Maybe we should also discuss this issue too. Call me crazy, but think about it. Some people have a low tolerance what most people say 'just shaking it off'. We all should respect one another. Maybe this should be a standard curriculum for every school.
Before we make new gun control laws, maybe we ought to ask a simple question: "Will this new particular law prevent these sort of tragedies?"
Will closing the "gun show loophole" prevent tragedies like this? Were any of the guns used in these tragedies bought at gun shows?
Will increasing waiting times to buy a gun prevent tragedies like this? Would any of these tragedies have been prevented if the wait times were longer?
Should we reenact the assault weapons ban? How many firearm homicides happen in this country from assault weapons?
It is natural to be angry in the wake of such horrible tragedies. Gun owners mourn this just as every other American mourn this. But in our anger, we should try to solve this problem effectively, not emotionally.
The last thing I want to see happen is more events like this. It is unbearable to think that this happened to elementary school kids.
It seems to me that we live in a nation where we not only have a dysfunctional health care system, but a nation that has a totally non-functional mental health care system.
The United States has some of the highest rates of mental illness in the industrial world. Perhaps we ought to wonder why. Is there something fundamental about our nation that makes us dysfunctional?
We, as Americans, behave more as consumers than citizens. Is this driving away our own humanity? How many of us talk to our neighbors anymore? How often are we talking to others in our own communities?
I don't know how we fix this. All I know is that I'm pretty sure that making sure that Beretta handgun magazines coming with 10 rounds instead of 17, isn't going to solve this.
The President is right... "These children are our children" and we all must protect our children from these heinous crimes. Whomever you pray to we all are part of making this world a more compassionate and kind people that will make this world a better place to live.
178 children have been killed via drone strike in Pakistan & Yemen alone....many on orders from Prez Obama....our "leaders" care very little about a compassionate world.....don't be naive.
War is hell and sorry to burst your apples to oranges comparisons bubble but school shootings in a non war zone is different then drone strikes in a war zone. Funny how it never bothered you when GWB bombed the hell out of Iraq or that ground troops followed the bombs, what no innocent children were killed for a war started for no reason.
@ whomitmay...."it never bothered me"....what are you, a mind reader ?....guess you didn't see my 1st post...not that I ever could get within a mile of GWB, but if I could, I would go to jail because I would kick the livin' sheet out of that piece of garbage.
As for "war zone"....what are you talking about ? The USA has not officially declared war since June 1942 when we declared war against Bulgaria, Hungary & Romania.
We now invade countries at the behest of corporate interests & for their profit....but judging from your post, I'm sure you are already aware of that.
We are all rightly outraged whan a maniac kills babies in a school-house in Connecticut for reasons we will probably never know, but where is the outrage when our govt. commits atrocities against countries who stand no chance against our military might ? As a country, we have lost the moral high ground.
If you try to expose such atrocities, as Bradley Manning did, you end up locked in a cage for months on end while the mainstream media looks the other way.
Right it doesn't take a mind reader to know the mind of the conservative concern troll. Dead give away is your insistence that the US hasn't declared war except you leave out that the last wars since 1941 were military actions, which is just word play to get around declaring war. Here is the Clue, it has been called the Iraq war since the first bomb dropped on Baghdad. We lost the moral high ground when republicans took us down the road of austerity, the US was the world leader in production, civil rights, human rights, education then along came the GOP with their wanting to go back to the 1800's robber baron days. So don't get on your high horse and pretend that Obama is the only president in history that killed innocents because that is a bold face lie and you know it. How many children have died from GOP policies, I don't see you whining about that. How many families are fatherless because of GOP 100 year war on drugs and the GOP law and order platform, again not a peep, but Obama using drones has your panties all twisted in knots, give me a break I wasn't born yesterday nor did I have my head in the sand for the last 50 years. Oh btw it is also the GOP who lead the charge on gutting the US mental health programs that has lead to the mentally ill walking the streets with nowhere to go to get help for their mental health issues. All because of a mentally ill actor the GOP sent to the white house claimed the US had no mentally ill.
@ whomitmay.....I hate the GOP worse than you could possibly know....I've voted for President once in my life...1972....I had just turned 18 & voted for a true war hero in George McGovern while the GOP offered up borderline psychopath Tricky Dick Nixon....The GOP has actually gone downhill since then if that's possible.
The Wall Street/Military has hijacked our Govt. to the point that Dem & GOP lawmakers are barely distinguishable nowadays.
I would have voted this year if I thought Jill Stein or Rocky Anderson had a chance but the "Empire" locked them out.
GOP Troll ?...lol....you really have no idea how much I hate Boehner, Ryan, Turtlehead McConnell, Jon Kyl & our brain-dead AZ governor Jan Brewer.